Craig Case, host and producer of The Inn Crowd, and celebrity Chef Michael Hutchings welcomes Stephanie Davis to The Inn Crowd cooking show. In this two part episode, we are on location at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, located in Simi Valley California. Stephanie was an advance team planner for special events during the President Reagan era and related a number of stories about the Reagan's dining preferences and a few inside stories about Air Force One. Stephanie flew on the same jet on a number of occasions.
We taped two shows at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The first menu was a recreation of President Reagan's first meal as the newly inaugurated president. The menu reflects the lighter "California Cuisine" style that was just coming into vogue at the time. First course is a "California Vegetable Salad" that I interpreted in my own style. Main course featured a Breast of Chicken Picatta flanked with asparagus, little summer squashes and a classic rice pilaf. Dessert went very simple with fresh California berries and almond crescent cookies. Of course, there was the Monkey Bread and wines from California drawn from the Foley Family Wines cellars.
On the second taping, the menu went to comfort foods. This is the type of dinner the Reagan's would enjoy in their private chambers on TV trays. The cook book by Henry Haller, chef to five presidents, served as my guide to a number of the recipes we recreated. A Belgian endive salad from Nancy Reagan's repertoire was followed by the famous meatloaf with baked macaroni and cheese. Dessert was a Brown Betty, an apple dessert from the old school and a favorite of the Reagan's.
Put your flaps down, fasten your seatbelt and pull back the throttle. I'll provide the recipes, the rest is up to you. See you in the Air Force One Pavillon!
Tastefully,
All recipes copyright 2015 Michael Hutchings, All Rights Reserved
Photo Credits William Conlin YTS Video Productions, unless otherwise noted.
Craig Case Producer, Case Productions